Views and reviews of over-looked and under-appreciated culture and creativity

Friday, June 02, 2017

Line Mar Match Box Construction 053 - Cross String Pulley

I found a Line Mar Match Box Construction Set from the 1930s, complete and with instructions. The box claimed the set made 100 different toys. I decided to test that claim -- one toy at a time. You can read all the posts for the Line Mar construction project at 100 Toys.

053 Cross String Pulley

In the instruction sheet, Linemar makes the claim that you can use rubber bands with this set to make wheels that turn.

Well, not really. Even the very modest tension of small, thin rubber bands is more than enough to pull these assemblies apart. That's why I use florist's wire instead. I can place it on the model without destroying it.

This particular piece of machinery went together pretty well. The biggest challenge was bending the wire to fit and putting it on the pulleys. Every time I got it around one, the other would get out of alignment.

Those posts are secured to the base with a single dowel in the middle of it. So any tension at all causes the post to pivot. As I said -- no way I could use rubber bands instructions suggest.